Will Samsung Galaxy S4 influence Enterprise Application Users?

RapidValue

Mar 20, 2013

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Its official and now it’s in here – the Samsung Galaxy S4 was unveiled in New York’s Times Square on 14th March’13. The device is expected to be available through 327 mobile operators across 155 countries by end of April’13.

What’s unique about this phone? – At first glance, the device might look the same as its predecessor (Samsung S3). However, when you look at it closely and play around with the phone, you will notice the difference – Samsung S4 is much nicer and more like the high-end phones as it should be. It is packaged with many more smart features; network technologies (4G, NFC); includes polycarbonate case, and still it’s now slimmer (7.9mm) and lighter (130g) than S3.

More importantly, the killer feature is the remote technology – allows users to control the phone functions without having to touch the screen. Users can ‘smart pause’ videos, ‘smart scroll’ through the screen, browse through emails, change music tracks or accept a call with a wave of a hand; it simply detects the movements of the eyes and wrist.

The Key Features:

To be ahead of the competition and to match the ever demanding requirements of mobile consumers, many device manufacturers are implementing new, innovative features in their upcoming releases. You would have used some the features in other phones, however a large set of features are completely new in this device. Listed below are some of the key features of Samsung S4:

Navigate with Air Gesture: You can accept or reject calls, change music tracks, browse the web and photo galleries without actually touching the phone screen. You can also preview emails, photos and other content by hovering your finger over the screen.

Segregate Personal & Professional Information: You can create separate folders to save your personal data and office data, so that both data do not get mixed.

Tilt the Phone to Scroll Up and Down: You can ‘smart scroll’ by tilting the phone to read articles and browse through the web pages (scroll up and down).

Start and Stop Videos through Eye Movements: You can ‘smart pause’ and ‘resume’ the videos by looking away from the video and looking at the video respectively.

Link Up to Play Together: You can transfer and instantly view or play documents, music files, photos, and other content to other Galaxy S4 handsets. It even supports multi-player games.

Shoot Front and Rear Picture Simultaneously: Phone supports dual camera. You can click photos with its 13-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras simultaneously. This allows you to be part of a group photo by inserting a small picture of yourself while you capture the picture.

Automatically Transfer Business Card information to Phone Contacts: You can take a picture of a business card using the phone camera and the details are automatically transferred into phone’s contact list. You can also dial the number in the business card.

Measure Temperature and Humidity sensors: phone includes capabilities to help you find out the temperature of the environment around you.

Voice Commands for Cars: phone includesa new interface to its S-Voice voice assistant to offer functionality when you’re driving. The feature connects users to the car by blue tooth and allows drivers to make calls, send messages, and check the weather with voice commands.

Other than the above mentioned features, phone includes some more fascinating features such as – ability to control entertainment center; sound and shoot – you can capture up to 9 seconds of audio while capturing a picture to make it more interesting; drama shot – you can combine all stages of action that takes place in burst mode into one photo; S-translate – the phone translates voice and text on-the-go through this tool and is integrated with e-mail and messaging app; Integrated to Google Wallets to help you shop and make payments.

Will this device influence Enterprise Application Users?

‘Slimmer’ and ‘Stronger’ than its predecessor (S3), the S4 weighs 130g and is 7.9mm thick. And is based on AMOLED technology (the screen has a resolution of 441 pixels per inch). The key to the success of the new S4 however will be the improvement in battery life, multiple data storage capacity options, faster processor and high-speed connectivity.

Some of the compelling features which we think will drive enterprises to invest in this device are:

Large Screen Size – The screen is 5 inches when measured diagonally, which is a bigger screen size compared to its predecessor S3 (4.8 inches) and its competitor device, iPhone 5 (4 inches). This large screen makes it easy for enterprise users to browse through apps and mobile websites.

Better Battery Life – device includes a 2,600mAh battery. That’s 500mAh bigger than the one in the S3 and should be big enough to cope with the slightly-enlarged screen, and the greater demands of 4G, while still running all day. This is an essential feature for enterprise users since better battery life helps users stay connected with their customers and staff longer, without any interruption. In addition, the battery is also removable, so you can carry a charged spare if you’re going to be out for a long time.

High Quality Image Resolution – device is enabled with a dual camera, with 2 mega pixel for front camera and 13 mega pixel for rear camera. Device also includes 1080p resolution to record videos. This allows enterprise users to capture high resolution images/ videos and sent to customers and co-workers.

High-Speed Connectivity – device supports latest wireless standards such as 4G LTE networks. Phone supports the global 4G network with download speeds of 100Mbit/s and uploads of 50Mbit/s. Full 2.5G, 3G, Bluetooth, Infrared, Mobile Hotspot tethering, NFC and Wi-Fi is also present. There is a better Wi-Fi support for users working from home – the new 802.11ac standard is supported with delivering speeds well over 200Mbit/s. This super-fast broadband speeds will make it convenient for enterprise users to work from home.

Large Storage – device supports16GB, 32GB and 64GB memory cards. There is also a microSD removable card slot, for users to add up to 64GB of storage. This provides additional storage for enterprise users to save their critical data.

Considering all the above factors and key features, this phone seems to have great potential for both consumer app and enterprise app users. We expect the IT departments in large & medium sized enterprises to invest in this device for their employees. Due to the competitive pricing (579 USD, 600-650 Euro and 40K – 45K INR), we think enterprise IT decision makers will at least purchase this device for their C-level executives to enhance productivity and provide faster communication with customers and co-workers.

We also expect, this Android-powered handset to be iPhone 5’s biggest competitor this year.